


House Hunters

by TWDObsessive



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Grumpy Daryl, House Hunting, M/M, determined Rick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 07:28:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6945604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TWDObsessive/pseuds/TWDObsessive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick has been living with Daryl in his too-small home, the kids joining them every other week.  It's just too small and it's time to go house hunting, but Daryl doesn't want to move.</p>
            </blockquote>





	House Hunters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaroonCamaro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaroonCamaro/gifts).



> A gift for my dear friend Marooncamaro's Birthday! Happy Birthday, dear! You are officially older than me for a month. I will catch up to you in a few weeks!! :-)

“I hate it,” Daryl grumbled.

“But look at the view! You love the woods. We can see everything from up here,” Rick said as they stood on the oversized back deck of the twenty-second house they'd looked at in the past two months.

Daryl grunted, hands stuffed in his pocket and looked down to the wooden planks of the deck at his feet. “Gonna need to keep this deck maintained.” He pointed. “Dry rot already in that corner. And see those trees? If there's a bad wind or a lightning strike, that's falling right on the roof over the room Carl will be sleeping in.”

Rick rubbed at his chin to hide an affectionate smile. He was getting so frustrated with Daryl dismissing all these options but his reasons were always heartfelt and sweet.

“Sugar, the odds of that are so slim. And this place has two full baths. Two! I won't have to walk in to take a piss while you're in the shower!”

Daryl frowned. “I like it when you come in. Showers get boring.”

“Soooooo…. What do you think of the place?” Tara, their real estate agent, asked as she stepped out on the deck to join them.

“It's no good man,” Daryl said before Rick could speak. “It's a death trap. I feel like you might be trying to kill us,” Daryl said.

Tara kept her smile plastered on but Rick could read a face palm in her eyes.

“Those trees are already leaning too close to the roof, the stairs to the basement creek, probably gonna collapse if we carry down anything too heavy. That ‘sunken living room’? You know how many times our youngest is gonna fall down that step? You ever hear her cry? She got lungs. She'd have to have brain surgery from all the falls and we'd all go deaf from the crying.” Daryl turned to Rick. “Let's just stay as my place.”

“Your place is too small, baby. You know that.”

Daryl sighed. “Well, I don’t this place.” He walked by Tara giving her a suspicious look as he passed. “I’ll be in the car.”

Rick looked at Tara, ready to apologize for the twenty-second time. 

“Rick, man,” she said. “I'm not gonna lie. I _have_ thought about killing him.”

“Yeah, me too,” Rick said. “Good thing he's so cute.”

Back at the house Rick slipped past Daryl as they worked together in the kitchen, Daryl slicing tomatoes and Rick getting the burgers ready.

“The kitchen in that house today was huge. Wouldn't it be nice to have more room?” Rick asked. “Wouldn't have to shimmy past each other like this all the time.” 

Daryl looked up, stopping in mid-slice. “You don't like brushing past me no more?” he asked with a pouty frown. 

“What? No, baby. I love feeling you against me. But wouldn't it be nice to be able to have room when we’re working?”

Daryl went back to slicing without a response. Once Rick had the burgers going on the George Foreman grill, he rubbed a hand over Daryl’s shoulders as he was rinsing the lettuce.

“What is it that makes it so hard for you to leave this place. You’ve always hated it. It’s a shack. One bathroom that’s usually out of hot water before one shower much less four. Hardly any cabinet space. Judith sleeps in a repurposed laundry room. We’re so close to the train track that the whole place shakes three times a day. You complained about it every day for the past two years.”

Daryl wiped his hands on his pants and looked around the room. “You wanna know why I don’t like the idea of leaving?” Daryl asked, clearly getting his hackles up. He walked over to the screen door off the kitchen and motioned to the holes at the bottom that were there from Judith poking at it. “That is where Judith said her first word. Kitty.” Without moving he pointed to the kitchen table. “That’s where we helped Carl with that volcano project from school. And that,” he pointed to the doorway, “is how tall Carl was when we first met.”

Rick walked over and ran a hand over some fading pencil marks. “I didn’t even know you were doing this. Just thought one of the kids was drawing on the wall.”

Daryl walked into the living room and Rick followed. “That?” Daryl pointed to the front porch, “was where you first kissed me and the kitchen sink? Where it's too tight for you to move around in now?” Daryl said defensively, “that's where you first told me you loved me.”

Rick cocked his head and smiled. “I had no idea you were this romantic.”

“Pfft. Not fucking romantic, man. Just… Just… This is home. Carl ain't complaining ‘bout the tight quarters. Judy don't care. They’re comfortable here.”

“They could be comfortable at that place on Greene Drive with the swing set in the back yard and the basketball hoop in the driveway.”

Daryl sat on the recliner, elbows on his knees and the smell of burgers almost ready on the grill.

“Gonna burn dinner, Rick,” Daryl grumbled. 

\----------------

The next day Rick had gotten Daryl to agree to see the house on Greene Drive again. It was the first time they’d gone for a second look and Rick had a plan. 

“The sellers are very motivated, guys. I could probably get you a really good deal on this one, Tara sang with forced enthusiasm.

“That’s fantastic,” Rick said at the same time Daryl said “Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“They bought their next house and now it’s just a burden to keep paying the mortgage. Nothing wrong with it.”

“I bet I’ll find something wrong with it,” Daryl groused. 

“I wouldn’t take that bet,” Rick muttered to Tara.

When they finally arrived and got out of the car, Rick watched Daryl look around. “Oh yeah. This one. I hated it, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. But I thought maybe we could walk through one more time together. For me?” Rick asked turning on the charm. He knew Daryl wouldn’t say no to such a simple request.

“Yeah, whatever. That hand rail on the front porch is broke FYI.”

Rick nodded as they walked up to the door and he motioned for Tara to wait outside. “Yup. Looks like. Good thing I got that drill you gave me for Christmas last year. I can fix that up in no time.”

“Well. You don’t take very good care of your tools. That’s why you needed a new one,” Daryl said, and not for the first time.

“You are right, love. And I’ve taken a lot better care of my new one.”

Daryl opened the door and stepped inside, looking around at the open foyer. 

Rick began his attack. “See those steps? Won’t that be a perfect place to take pictures for Carl’s prom?”

Daryl laughed. “He’s twelve. What you thinking about prom for?”

“Just thinking about the future, that’s all,” Rick said nonchalantly.

Daryl walked into the kitchen and tugged at each knob and handle on the cabinets, clearly hoping to find one broken.

“Look at the windows here,” Rick said. “We could look out and see Judith on the swing while we were getting dinner ready.”

Daryl grunted. “I know what you’re doing, Grimes. I’m not an idiot.”

“Oh, you know what I’m doing, huh?”

Daryl walked onto the back deck, looking up at the gutters. “Lemme guess. This is where we’ll have summer picnics and ice cream in the summers.”

“No. This will be the place where you remember me proposing,” Rick said.

Daryl looked down from the gutters to see Rick on his knee with a ring. “Daryl Dixon? Will you marry me? It doesn’t have to be contingent on moving into this house. But I think we could make a lot of nice memories here.”

Daryl fought hard to keep from smiling but in the end he lost the battle. “Is that a yes?” Rick asked. 

“Yeah, man. Of course. But this deck’s gonna need painted like yesterday.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just pure fluff. Hope you enjoyed!!!


End file.
